After the 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia this Monday, search efforts for survivors continue in the collapsed buildings where signs of life were detected. Firefighters, local Civil Defense and those from different parts of the country, as well as military experts in this type of task, work tirelessly because there is still hope of achieving more rescues.
Asocapitales estimated 132 dead so far and 570 injured.
“What worries us most are the 188 missing people. It is at that particular point where we will concentrate the action of the State with the departmental, municipal, and national government,” said Abelardo de la Espriella. The president, who began his term last Friday the 7th, spoke from Cali, after visiting the other cities most affected by the earthquake that surprised Colombia at 7:34 in the morning on Monday (14:34 in the Iberian Peninsula).
He added that in the capital of Valle del Cauca, there were 35 deaths and more than 700 injured. Regarding material damage, three hospitals collapsed and 18 more suffered damage of varying degrees.
“We have a number of affected homes. With the presence of the Minister of Housing, we have presented the action plan to help those people,” assured De la Espriella.
The mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, who had requested help because they could not face all the calamities with their own resources, received support from 228 rescuers and 105 military engineers from other regions of the country. He reported that 40 buildings have completely collapsed, 37 people have been rescued, and that the curfew decree in effect since 8 p.m. on Monday aims “to safeguard security in our city”. A measure, he added, that will not affect volunteers, doctors, public forces, firefighters, or any other body working on the ground.
Despite the immense wave of solidarity they have received from countless citizens, the president acknowledged that looting and public order problems occurred, so he announced the arrival of 1,000 soldiers to deploy them throughout the streets of Cali and protect the people of Cali.
A detail that drew attention and reflects the threats hanging over Abelardo de la Espriella, target of the criminal gangs that grew during the previous government, were the extreme protection measures inside the room where he held a meeting with his team. Several bodyguards protected him with armored shields capable of repelling attacks with high-powered weapons.
While the new government responded to the tragedy and Colombians remain terrified by what happened, former president Gustavo Petro dedicated one of his messages on X to recommending a new TV series. “I invite all the Colombian people to watch episode one of the second part of ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ by our Nobel Prize in Literature, comrade Gabriel García Márquez,” he wrote. It is worth remembering that Petro considered himself a sort of Colonel Buendía and often highlighted the renowned yellow butterflies that appear in the brilliant novel.
Regarding the aftershocks that may occur and worry Colombians, the Colombian Geological Service warned that they can happen at any time and even weeks later, although they are almost never of the same intensity as the earthquake.
The high seismic activity in the emerald nation, which experiences up to 80 tremors a day on average, “is largely related to its geographical location, as the territory is in an area where the Nazca, Caribbean, and South American plates interact,” published the Bogotá magazine Semana. “Additionally, part of the influence comes from the tectonic dynamics of the Pacific Ring of Fire, also known as the Pacific Fire Belt, one of the regions with the highest seismic and volcanic activity on the planet,” the publication explains.
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